Korea's biggest delegation of 182 Executives to arrive the Philippines for Investment

The Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry & Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) 

K-Biz to visit Philippines in search of trade opportunities

The biggest delegation of South Korean businessmen will arrive this week to look at potential trade, investment and tourism opportunities in the Philippines, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

DTI said a 182-strong mission composed of chief executives and senior officers belonging to the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) will visit the Philippines from July 17-20.

KOIMA groups over 8,000 public and private importers that handle 70 percent of South Korea's major imports such as agricultural produce, consumer goods, food and industrial products.

DTI-Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP) said this is the biggest inbound business mission to come from South Korea.

"We view the delegation's visit as an opportunity to further improve our economic relations with South Korea. We also look at it as support to our efforts in raising awareness about the Philippines' supply capabilities and sustaining the current momentum of tourism interest among Koreans," Trade Undersecretary Ponciano C. Manalo Jr. said in a statement.

"The DTI also sees the opportunity to develop and expand the current inventory of Philippine exports by exposing the group of Korean importers to alternative products and services. Examples of these products are organic chemicals, oleo-chemicals, minerals other than copper, electronics, motorcycle parts," Manalo said.

The visiting South Korean business mission will attend a DTI-led trade and investment seminar as well as a business matching session with Filipinos, and will also join a Department of Tourism-led (DOT) tour at a plantation resort.

DTI quoted KOIMA as saying that the group's Philippine visit is "one of the major activities of the association backed by [the South Korean] government."

"This year, the Philippines was selected over Thailand and Myanmar as the country to be visited by KOIMA's summer buying mission," Manalo said.

DTI-BETP data showed that two-way trade between the Philippines and South Korea last year reached $7.4 billion. Philippine imports outnumbered exports, with the former increasing 1.19 percent to $4.5 billion last year from $4.4 billion in 2011—making South Korea the fifth largest source of imports. But Philippine exports rose at a faster 27.93 percent to $2.9 billion last year from $2.2 billion in 2011, making South Korea the sixth biggest export destination.

The Philippines and South Korea enjoy free trade under the Asean-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA).

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Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 2013 - To End Employment Discrimination – Pia Cayetano

Age doesn't matter, says Cayetano in anti-discrimination in work bill

A bill that will prohibit and penalize employers who will decline any application or forcibly lay off a worker on the basis of age and other forms of discrimination has been filed at the Senate.

Senator Pia Cayetano said she filed Senate Bill No. 29 or the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 2013 to put an end to what she considered an emerging type of discrimination in the labor front — discrimination in employment based on a person's age.

The bill, she said, sought to penalize any employer, labor contractor or labor organization that would discriminate against any individual because of age.

Cayetano said the measure was anchored on the constitutional provision that mandates the state to ensure equality of employment opportunities for all.

"The basis for employment should be a person's knowledge, skills and qualifications which are necessary to perform a job. A person's age should not be an issue," she said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Prejudice against age is apparent in job postings which set arbitrary age limits for applicants. We often see these in classified ads, job fairs, billboards and the Internet," she said.

Under the proposed measure, employers from the private sector as well as the national and local government units would be prohibited from:

* Printing, publishing, or causing the printing or publishing of any notice of advertisement relating to employment suggesting preferences, limitations, specifications and discrimination based on age;

* Requiring the declaration of age or birth date during the application process;

* Declining any employment application because of the applicant's age;

* Discriminating against an individual on account of his or her age in terms of compensation, terms and conditions, privileges, promotions and other opportunities; and

* Forcibly laying off an employee because of old age.

"You would think that this is an issue affecting senior citizens, but no, even those in their late 20s are already discriminated against," Cayetano said.

"When I go around the country, people who look to be in their late 20s, 30s or 40s would sometimes approach and ask me, 'Senadora, pwede po ba nating ipagbawal sa batas ang age limit sa job hiring? Kahit may edad na po kami, kaya pa naman namin, pero laging mas bata ang pinipili ng mga employer['Senator, is it possible to prohibit the setting of age limits in job hiring? We are still capable despite our age, but employers tend to prefer younger applicants over us.']"

Once enacted into law, any person who would violate the measure would be fined not less than ₱50,000 but not more than ₱500,000, or imprisoned for not less than three months but not more than two years, or both, at the discretion of the court.

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Philippines took over Japan’s Car part dominance in Asean but cried for cheap imported Cars

According to Raquel Santos, the 127 members of MVPMAP who make 272 different car parts and components, are not exactly happy over the fact that imports of complete cars have over taken locally assembled units. He said the assemblers in the Philippines account for only 39 per cent of total car demand

Japan way behind; PH exports $3.5B car parts to ASEAN

The Philippines has beaten Japan in exporting vehicle transmission assemblies to the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) region. Every year, according to Ferdinand Raquel Santos, Japanese companies Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Isuzu export $3.5 billion compared to Japan's $1.1 billion.

Raquel Santos, president of the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing Association the Philippines (MVPMAP), told Business Insight cars imported from the region, particularly Thailand, have transmission assemblies made in the Philippines.

The rest of the car parts - wire harness, tires made by Yokohama in Clark, carpets, plastic parts, leatherette seats, seat belts, plastic bumpers, are big in numbers but have smaller values.

He said in value terms the Philippines accounts for about 25 per cent in parts exported to the region. Nearly all of them are accounted for by transmission assemblies. He said a car has 20,000 parts and components. Very few of them, except transmission assemblies  come  from the Philippines.

He explained that Japan might have discovered that producing the assemblies in the region such as the Philippines has the advantage of Thailand.

According to Raquel Santos, the 127 members of MVPMAP who make 272 different car parts and components, are not exactly happy over the fact that imports of complete cars have over taken locally assembled units. He said the assemblers in the Philippines account for only 39 per cent of total car demand.

The rest is imported. Back in 1996, 90 percent of automobiles sold in the Philippines is locally assembled. Imports account for a negligible 10 per cent.

He explained that the reversal of the ratio negatively affects the business of local parts manufacturers in terms of loss of demand.

He said he hopes local assemblers will regain their dominance but pointed out that the tariff agreements are a high hurdle. Under the Asean Free Trade Association (AFTA) many items or products enter the region without a tariff.

He said the fact that a separate agreement with Japan (Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jepepa)) and the coming similar agreements with South Korea and Australia do not help the Philippine makers of auto parts and components improve their business.

Still, Raquel Santos said, there are two models Mitubishi's L-300-and the Crosswind of Isuzu that use 70 per cent local parts and components

A good number of members of the association export parts and components to Thailand and Indonesia. These parts, he said, are common to units assembled in the Philippines.

He laments the fact that the 70,000 workers employed by the association, have not increased precisely because the market of parts makers have been taken over by imported units. He stressed, though that these units also use Philippine-made components notably the transmission assemblies.

Rising volume of imports deny the parts makers the economies of scale. The high cost of power in the Philippines does not help the members of the association either, according to Raquel Santos.

However, he said, there is a necessity for economic groupings to create big bargaining unit with giants of North America and Europe. He said competition with these highly developed countries will force the emerging markets like the Southeast Asian countries to introduce innovation, improve technology and management to be able to compete globally.

Raquel Santos broadly hinted that while the growth of small car parts manufacturers is stymied by rising imports, there is the fact that the Philippines is becoming the hub of manufacturing transmission assemblies as shown by the fact that three Japanese companies are heavily involved in producing them here.

Slowly, Filipino minds and hands are absorbing the technology in making this major car component. This could well be the start of more major components being produced in the Philippines.

Raquel Santos himself has a company producing minor parts like seats. He continues to trying to improve his technology, knowing he said, that modern technology and management efficiency are the keys to any successful operation, production of car parts or any other manufacturing ventures. His hopes are high in the face of negative developments. So are the rest of the members of the association.

With report from Malaya Business Insights

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